Cologne carnival
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The Cologne carnival is a carnival that takes place in Cologne, Germany every year starting at 11:11 on November 11 culminating in a week-long street festival leading up to Ash Wednesday. The eleventh of November constitutes a single day of celebration, and the immediate lead-up to Ash Wednesday several more. The highlight of the carnival is the Rosenmontag which takes place on the Monday. The typical cry during the festival is "Kölle Alaaf!", a Kölsch phrase which can be roughly translated as "Long live Cologne!"
Every year there are 3 people (the Dreigestirn) who are granted the titles of Jungfrau, Prinz, and Bauer (virgin, prince and farmer), who pay a large sum of money for their privileges. The carnival prince is deemed to be the highest representative of the festivities, leading the main parades throughout the week. Traditionally, the Jungfrau is male.
The official carnival with its parades and stage shows (Sitzungen) is run by the Festkomitee Kölner Karneval (Cologne Carnival Celebration Committee), which was founded in 1823. Alongside there are many autonomous carnival events throughout the city's bars, clubs and local communities, including "Stunk-Sitzung", a leftist comedy show caricaturing official carnival Sitzungen in style and poking fun at both traditional, conservative carnival as well as local and national politics.
As there have been continuously more than one million spectators on the streets for the Rose Monday parade every year [1] Cologne carnival is one of the largest street festivals in Europe. In recent years it has been bigger than London's Notting Hill Carnival.
[edit] German Carnival Singers And Bands
Alt-Schuss, Bernd Stelter, Bläck Fööss, Brings, Colör, Dä Radschläger, De Fätzer, De Höhner, Die 3 Colonias, De Kläävbotze, De Klüngelköpp, Kolibris, Marie Luise Nikuta, Paveier, Paraplüs, Rabaue, De Räuber, Die Rheinländer, Schmitti, De Vajabunde,
[edit] Notes
- ^ The organizers put the number around 1.4 million, but authorities give the number "more than one million" German embassy article
